I like the direction archaeology is heading. It used to be that folks looked only for treasure. You found treasure in the vast palaces of the ruler. It was fun. Gold! Grants! Exhibits worldwide!

I’m one of those people for whom the powerful and wealthy hold no particular interest. I mean, can you name even one of those overcompensated Goldman Sachs wonks who brought down the entire economy by making gambling instruments out of poor people’s mortgages last time? I doubt it. They are not interesting people in the least.

Archaeologists are wising up to this view. They’re starting to bring alive the more interesting parts of the city; the brothels, the slaughterhouses, the little shops and cafes.

And now, for a price, you can join them and learn about the real folk while they do.

Yes, this morning in a flurry of twitterings, I learned from Napoli Unplugged of the Pompeii Food and Drink Project in which you pay “to explore the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy, as a research participant in an ongoing noninvasive (that means no digging) study with a staff of historians, architects, and classicists.”

These kinds of experiences are quite enlightening—with prices commensurate with the degree of potential enlightenment. Yet you won’t likely get the opportunity to do this kind of thing again in your life without spending four years in school—and you’ll have takes to tell your friends that will make you the envy of your social group, even if it is only facebook.

Check out Pompeii Food and Drink Project

I’ve decided to illustrate this post with a picture of nearby Naples, where food is an art practiced not by the elite, but by your ordinary folk who talk with their hands. And believe me, it’s some of the best in the world.